Salem Witch Museum in Salem, Massachusetts
The Salem Witch Museum is a great place to learn about the Salem witch trials. You will not think of witches the same way after visiting this amazing museum in Salem, Massachusetts, the USA’s Halloween capital!
This post is sponsored by the Salem Witch Museum that gave my family an amazing experience at their museum. This post may also contain affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I will make a commission if you click on a link and make a purchase. Thanks for your support!
When visiting Boston, Massachusetts, we decided to take a day trip from Boston to spend an amazing day in Salem, Massachusetts. I had always wanted to visit the Salem witch trials location and knew this would be the best place to learn about the actual Salem witch trial facts and history.
We planned to start our day in Salem at the Salem Witch Museum. This is not your typical museum where you will walk in and stare at items at your own leisure. This is more of an experience. At first glance, the building of this museum seems very out of the ordinary. Set in an old church, the Salem Witch Museum’s appearance looks much different than anything around it.
Planning a trip to the Salem Witch Museum
If you want to visit the Salem Witch Museum, make sure to book your tickets online in advance. This is the only way to get into the museum. We noticed that some people were on their phones buying tickets as they stood in front of the museum. They seemed to be lucky and get a ticket, but to save yourself the worry, I recommend that you just reserve your tickets ahead of time.
Upon our arrival, we went to the staff members who were standing in front of the museum with scanners. They scanned our tickets and gave us a card to get into the museum. Then, with card in hand, we walked to the left door of the museum to wait for our tour to begin. I really liked the idea of taking a “tour”. We felt like we were getting the full experience of the witches of Salem that way.
Things to know before you visit the Salem Witch Museum
When it was our turn to go into the Salem Witch Museum, we were told that no pictures or videos would be allowed during the experience. That makes it somewhat difficult when writing a blog post, so all of the indoor photos you see in this post were lent to me from the Salem Witch Museum.
The no-photo rule was fine with me, though. It allowed us to focus more on what we were seeing and hearing. Just know that the experience you gain from this museum is not one you can accurately capture on camera anyway. People need to experience it for themselves.
What to expect at the Salem Witch Museum
First, we walked into a larger room where there were a bunch of seats and benches in the middle. We decided to take the bench in the back, since my younger son was a bit unsure of how scary this experience would be.
Watching the Story of the Salem Witch Trials
The show that we watched in this large room was presented with a voice recording, music and mannequins. We learned all about how the Salem Witch Trials were started and which people were involved. There were also many questions posed during the “show” that made you think about the severity of those events during the 1600s. It was quite impressive how they made this topic so easy to understand with this show.
We also learned a lot about the people behind the accusations and the fate of the Salem witch trials victims. In fact, you can see many of the names of the innocent victims in a circle on the floor of this first room!
Learning about the Evolution of the Witch throughout History
When the first part of our tour of the Salem Witch Museum was over, we were taken into another room. This looked more like a museum to me. It was a room with a few mannequin displays and many pictures and informational plaques on the walls.
However, the way we experienced this room was also not like the experience I have had in other museums. For example, the Witch Museum (Hex Museum) in Ribe, Denmark is all on audio. Though that could be helpful for people who don’t speak Danish, I often feel you could miss something important had you overlooked a section.
Read about the Hex Museum in Denmark HERE!
Instead, the second room at the Salem Witch Museum was still part of our tour. We were asked to look in different places while a voice recording explained what “witch” meant and how the term had evolved throughout history.
It gave us a better understanding of how people used the word witch to get what they wanted or to place blame on others. It was really quite fascinating. We even learned how pop culture has changed our modern-day view of the witch because of how a witch is portrayed in books and movies.
Modern-day Witch Hunts and the Religion of the Witch
The last part of the tour really hit home with me. It talked about how we can use “witch hunts” in modern society to single out groups of people to justify our fears. We were learning about history, pop culture, sociology, psychology, and religion in one museum, which was fascinating. Again, it was more than a museum, it was an experience.
We were asked to look at more signs and mannequins to learn more about the modern-day witches, Wicca and how a new form of the Salem witch trials can happen in today! After the tour was over, they allowed us some extra time to read the timeline on the wall. It was interesting to read about different events having to do with witchcraft in various parts of the world.
The Gift Shop at the Salem Witch Trials Museum
The last place that is well worth a visit is the Salem Witch Museum gift shop. If you have a fascination for all things witch, you will find it here. You could buy dolls, books, clothes, wine glasses, etc. Everything a witch could need! We even were able to get a flattened penny for our collection!
FAQs for the Salem Witch Museum
Before you visit the Salem Witch Museum, you may have a few questions to make sure that it is the place for you. Here are some of my thoughts on visiting the museum that might help you!
Is the Salem Witch Museum scary?
If you are a parent with the same fear and ask yourself, “is the Salem Witch Museum scary”, fear not! It wasn’t that scary. In fact, I felt that my entire family really gained a lot of knowledge about the Salem Witch Trials that they hadn’t had before, and it actually made witches less scary.
Keep in mind that my children were 9 and 12 when we went. I did see some smaller children in the museum during our tour, but if you have timid children, you may want to prepare them beforehand. I told my son that he could always close his eyes if he wanted, but he didn’t.
What is a quick way to learn about the Salem Witch Trials or Salem, Massachusetts before we visit?
My 12-year-old son had just finished a book about the Salem Witch Trials, so he already had some background knowledge of the history. I would recommend the book, What are the Salem Witch Trials? for a quick, yet informative introduction on the topic that will also give you some insight to another place we visited in Salem.
How can I get to Salem, Massachusetts from Boston?
When we visited Salem, we took the T (subway) to Wonderland, which is the northern end of the blue line. It was there that we were able to find the bus to Salem. Lines 450 and 455 actually say “Salem” on the bus stop sign, so you can’t miss it.
We traveled on a Sunday, and the bus was only running once every hour at different times. It was inexpensive and easy, but you might want to check your planning to make sure your subway trip matches with the bus. Otherwise, you might be waiting a while for the bus.
There is also a ferry that goes from Boston to Salem or you can easily drive there in your own car. It is easy to find parking. We had no problems getting around town on foot, though, since all the attractions we went to see were close to each other.
What other places are worth seeing on a trip to Salem, Massachusetts?
We loved walking along the interesting pedestrian street in the middle of the town called Essex Street. They had many fun shops that had a witch or magic theme in some way. You can also visit the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, graveyard and the wildly impressive “House of the Seven Gables” to extend your knowledge of early American history!
Overall Thoughts about the Salem Witch Museum
If you are someone who has an interest in witches, this is a great place to visit. It connects our popular view of witches with its history in the United States. The main show of the original story of the Salem Witch Trials is interesting in a non-scary way, but really small children may get a bit spooked by the music. Use your best judgement when taking the little ones here, but my 9 and 12-year-old boys really enjoyed it!
I absolutely loved the way they made me think while I was there. It wasn’t just history thrown at us on walls for us to take into our minds, but it was an experience that allowed us to feel and connect. If you are in Salem, Massachusetts or looking for a day trip from Boston, be sure to put the Salem Witch Museum on your bucket list!!
Planning a Trip to the Salem Witch Museum
Address: 19 1/2 Washington Square North, Salem, Massachusetts 01970
Website: https://salemwitchmuseum.com/
Telephone: 1 (978) 744-1692
How to Buy Salem Witch Museum Tickets: https://salemwitchmuseum.com/tickets/
Discount Partners: https://salemwitchmuseum.com/discounts/
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